Excerpt: “The emergence of ‘Generation Jones’ as a major UK political force could be set to make its mark on the forthcoming election…it is said to have an inclination to vote and the most at stake in the election economically…Polls suggest this dynamic section of society has become one of the most powerful electoral forces in Britain…The group first voted in the elections of 1979 or ’83 and Hawkins believes these formative votes lead many of them to feel an allegiances to the Tories. Speaking at an ePolitix.com Stakeholders event, he said that they “thought the Conservatives were the party of economic integrity but they turned their backs on them in later life and deserted the party”. If the Tories were able to re-establish the ‘disused track’ with the Joneses, Hawkins said, the party could pull the centre of political gravity back away from Labour. “The Joneses represent an explosive opportunity for the Conservatives, they are the most likely group to switch votes from one party to another,” he said. “They have the highest stake in the election economically and play a key role in education and tax.” …Positioned between the ‘baby boomers’ on one side and the ‘Generation X’ers’ on the other, the Joneses are said to be the first real group to display political ‘switchability’ and have come to symbolise the breakdown in party loyalty.”
